out.”
“I don’t know why I thought that being with you was what would do it.” Corey looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips. “I guess I was hoping your attitude about life would rub off on me a bit.”
“You were using me?” Gemma teased, a hand flying over her heart in mock horror. Corey laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her that same quick squeeze he had always done. Now that they weren’t an item, she found the gesture sweet rather than cheesy.
“We’ll stay friends, right?” Corey asked. “I mean, I haven’t stayed friends with any of my exes, but none of our relationships ended this peacefully.”
“Really?” Gemma raised an eyebrow. She could hardly imagine the perpetually even-tempered Corey in a heated breakup. He almost seemed like the type to handle a breakup through paperwork or something.
“My last relationship was in college,” Corey explained. “Her name was Melissa. We were together for three years before it ended with lots of yelling, lots of tears, lots of alcohol, and me running away to New Zealand for three months.”
“ What? ” Gemma laughed. “That’s pretty dramatic.”
“She literally made me jump off a bridge,” Corey laughed. Gemma paused at his words, suddenly recalling her impromptu solo trip to Croatia, and that dive off the cliff. She looked up at Corey for an explanation. “The first thing I did when I got there was bungee jump, just to get all the bad energy out of me. And I think they calculated my weight wrong or something because my head dipped into the water and I was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to. But it was nice. Because it was like being washed of her.”
“That’s crazy,” Gemma exhaled, blinking away her own memory. It was strange that she and Corey had never had these types of conversations while they were technically in a relationship, but she was glad to learn this of him at all.
“I’ve heard,” Corey began. “That you did something similar after breaking up with Tyler.”
“No, we weren’t broken up,” Gemma said. But I guess we might as well have been. “I was just going through some things…”
“I think we actually do have a lot in common,” Corey laughed, looking boyish as he brought his long legs up onto the bench. “But I agree maybe we weren’t meant to be any more than friends. No matter how gorgeous you are.” He reached a hand over, playfully tousling Gemma’s hair.
“I think most people are having a hard time understanding why we don’t work. But I don’t think the reason is that easy to explain. It’s just a feeling.”
Corey nodded. “You know, I was actually just so happy to be with someone that didn’t make me crazy the way that Melissa did,” he said. “And I was thinking, maybe this is just what a healthy relationship is like. That we’re just two people who make sense together and provide each other company. And maybe, everything I heard about you in the past and everything I knew about your relationship with Tyler and my relationship with Melissa… maybe all those things were in the past because we’ve matured and we’ve grown up and know better. But you’re right about the fact that there should be this intangible something more. I mean, not that I’m saying we should be like our last relationships where there was so much of that something that we were driven to run away and jump off of high places. But I’m thinking, maybe a little crazy is still necessary.” He paused after his long speech, peering self-consciously at Gemma. “I mean… don’t you agree?”
She studied him, considering his theory. “Actually, I think I do.”
Chapter 4
“Oh my God, I want that hat,” Zoe said, kneeling in front of an open box sitting in the middle of Gemma’s studio. Gemma walked over, looking down at her own creation, wrapped up and ready to be shipped to its new owner. It was a
“I don’t know why I thought that being with you was what would do it.” Corey looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips. “I guess I was hoping your attitude about life would rub off on me a bit.”
“You were using me?” Gemma teased, a hand flying over her heart in mock horror. Corey laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her that same quick squeeze he had always done. Now that they weren’t an item, she found the gesture sweet rather than cheesy.
“We’ll stay friends, right?” Corey asked. “I mean, I haven’t stayed friends with any of my exes, but none of our relationships ended this peacefully.”
“Really?” Gemma raised an eyebrow. She could hardly imagine the perpetually even-tempered Corey in a heated breakup. He almost seemed like the type to handle a breakup through paperwork or something.
“My last relationship was in college,” Corey explained. “Her name was Melissa. We were together for three years before it ended with lots of yelling, lots of tears, lots of alcohol, and me running away to New Zealand for three months.”
“ What? ” Gemma laughed. “That’s pretty dramatic.”
“She literally made me jump off a bridge,” Corey laughed. Gemma paused at his words, suddenly recalling her impromptu solo trip to Croatia, and that dive off the cliff. She looked up at Corey for an explanation. “The first thing I did when I got there was bungee jump, just to get all the bad energy out of me. And I think they calculated my weight wrong or something because my head dipped into the water and I was pretty sure it wasn’t supposed to. But it was nice. Because it was like being washed of her.”
“That’s crazy,” Gemma exhaled, blinking away her own memory. It was strange that she and Corey had never had these types of conversations while they were technically in a relationship, but she was glad to learn this of him at all.
“I’ve heard,” Corey began. “That you did something similar after breaking up with Tyler.”
“No, we weren’t broken up,” Gemma said. But I guess we might as well have been. “I was just going through some things…”
“I think we actually do have a lot in common,” Corey laughed, looking boyish as he brought his long legs up onto the bench. “But I agree maybe we weren’t meant to be any more than friends. No matter how gorgeous you are.” He reached a hand over, playfully tousling Gemma’s hair.
“I think most people are having a hard time understanding why we don’t work. But I don’t think the reason is that easy to explain. It’s just a feeling.”
Corey nodded. “You know, I was actually just so happy to be with someone that didn’t make me crazy the way that Melissa did,” he said. “And I was thinking, maybe this is just what a healthy relationship is like. That we’re just two people who make sense together and provide each other company. And maybe, everything I heard about you in the past and everything I knew about your relationship with Tyler and my relationship with Melissa… maybe all those things were in the past because we’ve matured and we’ve grown up and know better. But you’re right about the fact that there should be this intangible something more. I mean, not that I’m saying we should be like our last relationships where there was so much of that something that we were driven to run away and jump off of high places. But I’m thinking, maybe a little crazy is still necessary.” He paused after his long speech, peering self-consciously at Gemma. “I mean… don’t you agree?”
She studied him, considering his theory. “Actually, I think I do.”
Chapter 4
“Oh my God, I want that hat,” Zoe said, kneeling in front of an open box sitting in the middle of Gemma’s studio. Gemma walked over, looking down at her own creation, wrapped up and ready to be shipped to its new owner. It was a
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